The Chicago Fire tied los Rayos de Necaxa 1-1 Tuesday night in an international preseason exhibition match at Estadio Victoria in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Chicago scored the first goal of the night in the 11th minute, with a tally from forward Andy Herron, assisted by midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Necaxa forward Fernando Lopez scored the game-tying goal for "los Rayos" in the 21st minute, with the assist recorded by midfielder Juan de la Cruz
In the 11th minute, Blanco chipped a ball over the Necaxa defense to Herron, resulting in a one-on-one situation for Herron with Necaxa goalkeeper Ivan Vazquez. The goalkeeper came off his line to cut down the angle, but Herron sent a lofting shot over Vazquez to give the Fire a one goal advantage.
The Fire nearly doubled their lead as a series of rapid passes between Blanco, midfielder Justin Mapp, and Herron resulted in a shot by forward Tomasz Frankowski. The Polish international sent a shot toward the left post, but Velazquez tipped the ball away from danger and out of bounds.
Necaxa forward Fernando Lopez notched the game-tying goal in the 21st minute, after receiving a pass on the right from Juan de la Cruz. Lopez sent a hard shot toward the corner and although Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch reached, and got a hand on the shot, the ball sailed into the net, to tie the score 1-1.
The Fire made 10 substitutions in the second half of the international friendly, giving rookies Dwight Barnett, Peter Lowery, Stephen King, and Kai Kasiguran, important minutes in the second half, offering the Draftees experience against the Mexican Primera División team. 2008 MLS SuperDraft acquisition Austin Washington was the only rookie to start for the Fire, playing the full 90 minutes of the match.
The Fire will continue to train in Aguascalientes until Saturday, when the team travels to Mexicali, Mexico, to face San Luis on March 11, at 8:30 p.m. CT.
Fire Lineup (4-4-2): GK- Jon Busch, D-Gonzalo Segares (Brian Plotkin 61), D-Diego Gutierrez (C.J. Brown 85), D-Bakary Soumare, D- Austin Washington, M-Justin Mapp (Mike Banner 76), M-Logan Pause (Kai Kasiguran 85), M-Chris Rolfe (Stephen King 70), Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Dwight Barnett 82), F-Andy Herron (Peter Lowery 76), F-Tomasz Frankowski (Calen Carr 70).
Necaxa Lineup (3-4-3): GK-Ivan Vazquez, D-Pablo Quatrocchi (Daniel Cervantes 67), D-Miguel Acosta, D-Emilio Hassan (Jorge Zatarain 79), D-Fernando Lopez (Oscar Zea 45), M-Fabiano Pereira (Alberto Medellin 67), M-Carlos Hurtado (Ricardo Nauarro 79), M-Juan de la Cruz (Hector Giménez 45), F- Angel Reyna (Alejandro Castillo 45), F-Gerardo Galindo, F-Hugo Rodallega (Luis Valdez 45).
Scoring Summary
CHI - Andy Herron (Cuauhtemoc Blanco) 11
NXA - Fernando Lopez (Juan de la Cruz) 21
Misconduct Summary
CHI - Jon Busch (57th minute)
Attendance: 12,415
